A review of cassiterite beneficiation fundamentals and plant practices

•Role of particulate properties in gravity concentration and flotation is reviewed.•Chronology of surfactant inventions in cassiterite flotation is presented.•Adsorption characteristics of different surfactants onto cassiterite are summarized.•Cassiterite beneficiation plant practices and their developments are reviewed.•Advanced gravity concentrators are assessed for the recovery of ultrafine particles.

Tin has many important properties and thus it finds wide applications in metal coating, tin plating, alloying, soldering, and plumbing, as well as in the electronic, electrical, and organotin compounds industries, etc. The metal is chiefly produced from the mineral cassiterite, which is generally beneficiated following gravity concentration and flotation techniques. Cassiterite beneficiation has contributed significantly to the understanding of fundamentals in mineral processing. In particular, the influence of particle size in gravity concentration and flotation techniques has been revealed. Basic research on flotation, such as the development of specific surfactants and the adsorption behaviour of these onto mineral surfaces has been performed. In the present review paper, an attempt has been made to summarize the role of particulate properties in gravity concentration and adsorption behaviour of flotation surfactants with regard to cassiterite. Past tin beneficiation plant practices are reviewed in detail including process flowsheet developments which have taken place over time.